In a so-called “digital camera”, arranged are various kinds of optical elements including lenses and an imager (such as a CCD). In order to produce a subject's image as accurately as possible on an imager, improvements have been added to not only the performance of the respective optical elements themselves but also the shapes and arrangement of members that support those optical elements.
For example, Patent Document No. 1 discloses a technique for preventing dust from heading for an imager by providing packing between the imager and an optical element that is located adjacent to the imager. Various shapes have been proposed for that packing. Patent Document No. 1 discloses packing in one shape as shown in FIG. 5 of the document and packing in a modified shape as shown in FIG. 1 of the document.
Also, after the optical system has been assembled, the camera is tested to see if the optical axis of its optical system crosses the imager at right angles. This is because unless the optical axis is perpendicular to the imager, the subject's image will be captured non-uniformly on the CCD, thus eventually getting the subject's image blurred. If the optical axis has turned out to be not perpendicular to the imager as a result of the test, then the camera is once broken up, assembled again, and then subjected to the test one more time. However, this is a very inefficient method. Thus, to avoid such an awkward situation, according to Patent Document No. 2, for example, when a CCD is fixed onto a CCD fixing member using three adjust screws, the attachment angle of the CCD is controlled by loosening or tightening each of those screws adaptively.